A Japanese lander that is carrying the UAE's Rashid rover has entered the lunar orbit, ahead of its landing attempt next month.
Ispace, the company that built the Hakuto-R Mission 1 lander, on Tuesday announced the spacecraft was safely orbiting the Moon.
This is the company's and the UAE's first mission to the Moon and will pave the way for the Emirates' long-term lunar exploration programme.
"The Mission 1 lander performed its first lunar orbit insertion manoeuvre in accordance with the mission operation plan," an ispace statement said.
"The achievement demonstrates ispace’s ability to successfully deliver spacecraft and payloads into a stable lunar orbit."
The launch took place on December 11 from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai, said that the lunar orbit insertion was a proud moment for the UAE.
"We are proud of recording a new Emirati achievement with the entry of the Rashid rover into the orbit of the Moon," he tweeted.
"With the support of our leaders and the intellect and determination of our youth, there is no limit to our ambitions in the field of space exploration."
The spacecraft has travelled millions of kilometres on a low-energy transfer route, which involved using the Sun and Earth's gravity to push itself towards the Moon.
Ispace will attempt a landing late next month on the Atlas Crater region of the Moon. However, three backup sites have also been selected as a precaution.
"Specific information on date and time of the landing will be announced in the future," it said.
If successful, the ispace landing would be a landmark moment for the UAE's space mission.
But Moon landings are no easy task. Spacecraft touching down on Earth or Mars, for example, can use parachutes to slow themselves down and land safely.
But because the Moon is void of any atmosphere, complex manoeuvres are required to reduce the speed of the lander to touch down softly on the surface.
Only the US, the former Soviet Union and China have achieved soft landings on the Moon.
Landers operated by India and Israel have crashed on the surface.
Once the Rashid rover is on the Moon, it will spend 14 days exploring and capturing data.
Emirati engineers will study the properties of lunar soil, the petrography and geology of the Moon, dust movement, surface plasma conditions and the Moon's photoelectron sheath.
The 24-man squad:
Goalkeepers: Thibaut Courtois (Chelsea), Simon Mignolet (Liverpool), Koen Casteels (VfL Wolfsburg).
Defenders: Toby Alderweireld (Tottenham), Thomas Meunier (Paris Saint-Germain), Thomas Vermaelen (Barcelona), Jan Vertonghen (Tottenham), Dedryck Boyata (Celtic), Vincent Kompany (Manchester City).
Midfielders: Marouane Fellaini (Manchester United), Axel Witsel (Tianjin Quanjian), Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City), Eden Hazard (Chelsea), Nacer Chadli (West Bromwich Albion), Leander Dendoncker (Anderlecht), Thorgan Hazard (Borussia Moenchengladbach), Youri Tielemans (Monaco), Mousa Dembele (Tottenham Hotspur).
Forwards: Michy Batshuayi (Chelsea/Dortmund), Yannick Carrasco (Dalian Yifang), Adnan Januzaj (Real Sociedad), Romelu Lukaku (Manchester United), Dries Mertens (Napoli).
Standby player: Laurent Ciman (Los Angeles FC).
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Teaching your child to save
Pre-school (three - five years)
You can’t yet talk about investing or borrowing, but introduce a “classic” money bank and start putting gifts and allowances away. When the child wants a specific toy, have them save for it and help them track their progress.
Early childhood (six - eight years)
Replace the money bank with three jars labelled ‘saving’, ‘spending’ and ‘sharing’. Have the child divide their allowance into the three jars each week and explain their choices in splitting their pocket money. A guide could be 25 per cent saving, 50 per cent spending, 25 per cent for charity and gift-giving.
Middle childhood (nine - 11 years)
Open a bank savings account and help your child establish a budget and set a savings goal. Introduce the notion of ‘paying yourself first’ by putting away savings as soon as your allowance is paid.
Young teens (12 - 14 years)
Change your child’s allowance from weekly to monthly and help them pinpoint long-range goals such as a trip, so they can start longer-term saving and find new ways to increase their saving.
Teenage (15 - 18 years)
Discuss mutual expectations about university costs and identify what they can help fund and set goals. Don’t pay for everything, so they can experience the pride of contributing.
Young adulthood (19 - 22 years)
Discuss post-graduation plans and future life goals, quantify expenses such as first apartment, work wardrobe, holidays and help them continue to save towards these goals.
* JP Morgan Private Bank
More from Aya Iskandarani
Three tips from La Perle's performers
1 The kind of water athletes drink is important. Gwilym Hooson, a 28-year-old British performer who is currently recovering from knee surgery, found that out when the company was still in Studio City, training for 12 hours a day. “The physio team was like: ‘Why is everyone getting cramps?’ And then they realised we had to add salt and sugar to the water,” he says.
2 A little chocolate is a good thing. “It’s emergency energy,” says Craig Paul Smith, La Perle’s head coach and former Cirque du Soleil performer, gesturing to an almost-empty open box of mini chocolate bars on his desk backstage.
3 Take chances, says Young, who has worked all over the world, including most recently at Dragone’s show in China. “Every time we go out of our comfort zone, we learn a lot about ourselves,” she says.
